Shotshells are well known in the art, and are available in many different configurations. Shotshells are typically filled with shot of a uniform size, classified according to the nominal diameter of the shot. Standard sizes have developed, for example ranging from BBB (0.19″ dia) to 3 (0.14″ dia) to 9 (0.08″ dia), as would be recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art.
The shot size can be selected according to the specifics of the target. For example, when hunting upland game, such as pheasants and grouse, at closer ranges, shotshells having a smaller shot can be desirable to achieve a greater shot spread. When hunting waterfowl at longer ranges, larger shot can be desirable, which can achieve a narrower shot spread and carry more energy to the target.
The shot spread and pattern density are often used to evaluate shotshells. Prior art shotshells tend to create shot patterns that are not evenly dispersed, for example having a higher density than necessary at the core of the pattern while exhibiting too light a density to be effective in the remaining areas of the shot pattern located outside the core.
There remains a need for shotshells that exhibit a more consistent and effective pattern density across a greater area.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.